Good to see you this morning.
Again, we are a blessed people. We have the privilege to be able
to meet together and worship the Lord. The ability to be able to meet
together and to hear and to believe the gospel of
God's grace. What a privilege. Let's take
our Bibles and turn to the book of John, chapter 1. I'd like
to look, as we continue in our study through this book, John
1, I'm going to be looking Lord willing, verses 32-34. Let's
have a word of prayer and then we'll begin. Our Father, as we come before
you this morning, we thank you. Father, we don't even want to
begin. without asking Your blessing,
without asking Your mercy and compassion and grace be shown
to us. We realize that we can't read,
we can't pray, we can't hear, we can't see unless You grant
us that blessed privilege. Bless Your Word, we ask You.
Show us Your blessed Son, revealed to us by Your Holy Spirit, the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is in His name we pray,
Amen. John the Baptist, as we looked
last time in verse 29 of this chapter, said, Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away, which beareth away the sin of the world." This world is so taken up with everything
else. The care of this world. Just what's in it for me? What can
I get? What can I attain? And the true
issue is how should man be just before
God? And there's the answer right
there. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away, not what you
did with it, what has God Almighty done for
the sake of His Son, for the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ,
what has God done for Himself in pleasing Himself for the good
of those that He has everlastingly loved. Now the revelation, that's what
John said, behold, there he is. The revelation of the Lamb of
God answers the heart's desire of the new man. It answers his
desire. It answers what I can know. about Him who has borne away
my guilt. This life is so frail. It is so frail. I'm telling you, you can be standing
there one minute And I'm telling you, it was that
quick. Before you have time to think,
before you have time to reason, before you have time, gone. Just gone. Every man, woman, made sensible
to his need. Tell me about the Lamb that taketh
away the sin of the world. Tell me of the Lord. By God's revelation, by God's
grace, I know every man, every woman knows something. regenerated by the grace of God. Every man knows something of
God's justice. You know something about it. The heathen. There's a conscience
in every man born in Adam. There's a conscience that knows
right and wrong. There's a conscience there. I've
told you before, down in Mexico, Gone to those places and those
temples where they sacrifice people. They knew something. The gods are angry. We've got to be appeased. Something is going to have to
appease the God that I worship. Obviously, it has to do with
killing a sacrifice. And there's a knowledge of right
and wrong. John's declaration sets forth
the one that the Holy Spirit of God time after time after
time in the Scripture spoke of. The Lamb. The Lamb. In Genesis 4-4, I want you to
look at this Scripture. I want you to look at a couple
of Scriptures here. In Genesis 4-4, the Lamb is typified as the one that Almighty God
respected, the lamb that God had respect toward, and the one
from whom all the others, the elect, would come, the firstling. I want you to look at something
here. Let's read verse 3, Genesis 4, 3. unto the Lord. And Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his offering." Now, I want you to look at something
here with me for a second. I had never seen this before
until just day four yesterday. I was looking at something. I was looking at the words of
this scripture. It said that, verse 3, that Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Now, Cain's offering was an offering
of acknowledgment of God's Creatorship. That God made these fruits and
vegetables. God made all this. God made this. And Cain brought an offering. It said that Cain brought to
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. An offering that was given possibly of God's ability to make all this. God is the creator of all of
this. This belongs to God. This is
God's fruit. This is God's land. This is God's
fruits and vegetables. This is God's, and I'm going
to offer And it said in Abel, he also... Now there's the word that I looked
at. He also. He also brought of the
firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. Now turn
over to Hebrews 11. And I want you to look at something
here. The word I just read there the
word also, and he also brought. Now I want you to look at Hebrews
11 verse 4. By faith Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead, yet
he speaketh." Now, here's the point that I want to make concerning
the Lamb. It says back in Genesis 4-4 that
Abel brought also. Now, I'm not saying that Abel
didn't also have an offering of thanks, an offering of God's,
the acknowledgement of God's creatorship. Hebrews 11 verse
4 said that God had respect unto His offering concerning the gifts. There was a big difference in
what Cain did and Abel did. Men by nature will acknowledge
I acknowledge God is the Creator. God made all this. It's God's. All this cattle on
God, it's God's. Cattle of a thousand hills, and
all this is the Lord's, and I believe in God, and I believe that God
is God. I believe that God made this.
And everything I have is from the Lord. Now you know a man
can admit that. Cain admitted that. Abel obviously, it said he also
brought of the first one. He obviously, and according to
the wording in Hebrews 11, 4, Abel also acknowledged God's
creatorship. This is the Lord's. But there
was one big difference. God had respect unto Abel's offering
because Abel brought of the firstling of his flock. Abel's offering spoke of his
need of atonement. The devils believed that there's
God, that God is. The devils believed that. The
devils will believe, God made all this. This is all this God's.
But it takes a new heart to realize that I need an atonement. Men can say, God Almighty is
the Creator of all things and I ought to thank Him. The heathens are admitting God
needs to be appeased. but they don't know anything
about the Lamb. John the Baptist was acknowledging
there's the Lamb. The Spirit of God had been speaking
back in Genesis. Man needs an atonement and the
atonement is going to be God's Lamb. Remember we looked in Genesis
22.8 Here is the Lamb, as I said a
moment ago, quoting Brother Scott. Here is God doing something for
God before God Almighty would do anything for a man. God had
to please Himself. Here is the knife. Here is the
wood. Here is the fire. Where is the Lamb? My son, God
will provide Himself a Lamb, able with a sacrifice. Set forth. There's got to be
an atonement. Abraham, through the Spirit of
God, prophesied God's going to provide that atonement. That
atonement is going to be himself. In Genesis, I mean, Exodus 12,
13, the Lamb was shown to be one that was going to have to
be slain And His blood was going to have to be applied. They put
it on the doorpost. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. In Isaiah 53, we learn for the
first time that God's Lamb is a man. God's Lamb is the man, Christ
Jesus. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows. The Lamb of God is a man? That's
right. The Lamb of God is the Son of Man. He was acquainted with grief.
He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet He opened
not His mouth. He was brought as a Lamb. to
the slaughter as a sheep before his shearers is done, so he opened
not his mouth." And now here over in John, John chapter 1,
as we looked at here last week. They'd been reading those scriptures.
They read that scripture of Abel. Abel had a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain. Abel was thankful. He was thankful. He knew God the Creator of all
things, but His sacrifice spoke of atonement. It's going to be a man. Blood's
going to have to be shed. God's going to provide Himself.
And now, here He comes. He's walking. And John looked
and said, there He is right there. That's the One that the Spirit
of God has spoken of. all these centuries, behold the
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." Revelation 5, 8 and 9 declares
that He shall be the object of the church's eternal adoration
and worship. The Lamb. The Lamb. The Lamb. Almighty God is going to bring
honor to the Lamb. It's the Lamb. When He had taken
the book, the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb,
having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors,
which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by
Thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
Revelation 22, 1, we see the Lamb glorified and seated on
the throne of God. John wrote under the Spirit of
God's direction, He showed me a pure river of water, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb. Behold, the Lamb of God. We're here this morning to bow, to hear of, and behold
to worship God's Lamb, the Lamb of God, respectfully. We're here to hear of atonement. I've said time after time, tell
me one more time how God Almighty has put away my guilt. Tell me
how I can stand right here, right now, with some peace and some
comfort and some assuredness, that if I were to take my last
breath, that I'd see Him in mercy, compassion. The Lamb of God that takes away
the sin of the world, Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male,
female. had a knowledge of who the Lord
Jesus Christ was by divine revelation. And the seal of that confirmation,
God Himself gave him. John 1, here it is. John, verse
32, bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove, and it abode on Him, and I knew Him not. But
he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me,
Unto whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining
on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."
John had just said in verse 31, two verses before, I knew him
not. Now he said it again. Verse 33,
I knew him not. I didn't have any personal interaction
with him until I saw him on that day. The Spirit of God revealed
to me who he was. Here he was the forerunner. The
one that would come in the spirit of Elijah. The one that would
save him. That's him. Acknowledging. Now, here's an amazing thing. I want you to turn over to Matthew
3. Matthew 3. Obviously, John, the scriptures
set forth, was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's
womb. And obviously, the Spirit of
God within John had borne witness to John prior to the Lord's baptism,
who the Lord was prior to his baptism. Look, I
want you to look at Matthew 3, starting in verse 13. Then cometh
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.
But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of
thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, and said
unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us,
to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him, And Jesus,
when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.
And, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him. And He saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. And, lo,
a voice from heaven saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased." John, by the Spirit of God's revelation, and
that's the only way that man would ever know who He was, when
the Lord came to him and He said, I want you to baptize me." John
said, I need to be baptized of you. And the Lord said, no, all
righteousness must be fulfilled. I've told you why I believe. The Lord told John. John was the last of the Old
Testament prophets. And here was John baptizing in
the River Jordan. All of the priests who were pictured
in the Old Testament, they would go in and they would be, they
had that labor, wash their hands and feet. Picture. Type. Ceremonial. It was a ceremonial cleansing. A picture. Ceremonially. They were setting forth the cleanness
of the priest that would go in. It was a type, it was a picture.
Before they'd go in to minister, they would cleanse in that water
a picture of their cleanness, a type of the cleanness of the
Lord Jesus Christ who was in Himself pure. And they'd go in
there to do the daily ministerings set forth the purity of Him who
was in Himself pure. And there's John the Baptist,
the last of those Old Testament prophets. And here's the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that baptism by which He
was baptized set forth according to the law. Here He was being
baptized in that River Jordan fulfilling the law, because he
himself was the priest who was pure. And he fulfilled, he told
John, all righteousness must be fulfilled. Every jot, every
tittle of the law, he fulfilled perfectly. And there he was. John said, I need to be baptized
of you. No, it was the Lord who was fulfilling
all righteousness according to the law. John baptized him. Heavens opened. A dove. The Spirit of God in the form
of a dove came down, picturing the character of the One upon
whom it was going to light. A dove. That dove that set forth
perfectly Dove, a picture of love. You know, doves. Picture love and faithfulness. Two doves get together. They're
together for life. Doves, they find their mate. They're together. But also a
picture of sorrows. There's a picture, type, beauty
of the love of Almighty God. towards His people, those that
He has everlastingly loved. He loved them and He loved them
to the end. But oh, that dove that also is
a picture of sorrow, mourning. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. And right in that beautiful point
in time, Almighty God answers. to the glory of His Trinity.
There is the Lord Jesus Christ being baptized. There is the
Spirit of God descending in the form of a dove. And here is the
voice of the Father out of heaven. This is My beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. Almighty God acknowledging, setting
forth the glory of the Lamb. And John said, In verse 34, I
saw, and bear record, this is the Son of God. John had borne record to the
eternality of the Lord Jesus back in verse 15 of this first
chapter. He said, He that cometh after
Me is preferred before Me, for He was before Me. He is the eternal
Son. He has always answered. He has
always stood. John bore witness of His Lordship. Verse 23, he said, I'm the voice
of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord. I'm just a voice. He's the Lord. I'm the creature. He's Creator. John bore witness of His glory
in verse 27. It is He who coming after me
is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I'm not worthy
to unloose. I am what I am by the grace of
God. John bore witness to his sacrificial work. Just looked
at that. Verse 29, Behold, the Lamb of
God taketh away the sin of the world. He bore witness. concerning his moral perfection.
That's what we just read in verse 32. I bear record saying I saw
the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove. It abode upon him.
It stayed on him. He bore witness to his right
and power to convert, to purify, to guide his people by his Spirit. Verse 33 that we just read. He
that sent me to baptize with water the same, said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining
on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."
Regenerating power. I can't regenerate myself. Verse 34, I saw him. I saw. And I bear record, this is the
Son of God. This is the lamb that takes away
the sin of the world. Listen, of all that this world
sets forth concerning salvation, this world
can do nothing but set forth that salvation is in your hands. The world can but set forth that
salvation is in your hands. The world sets forth that salvation
is up to you, that God Almighty wants to if you will let Him. Only by divine revelation with
a heart that perceives Now the world will read those words,
behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, and
the world will add its works to that. What else the world
will say? I acknowledge that He takes away
the sin of the world. What it is, is He's made salvation
possible. And all you have to do, it's
all of grace, they say. But all you have to do to make
it effectual, That's not what this is saying. God's Lamb taketh away the sin of all that
God Almighty has everlastingly loved, set His affection upon,
chosen in Christ, redeemed by Christ. This is the Lamb of God
that takes away taketh away the sin of the world without any
help from you and tells you about it by faith, and you believe
Him. What a miracle of God's grace!
May the Lord add His blessing to our hearts and teach us of
His blessed Lamb for His honor and for our good. Amen. All right,
let's take about 10 minutes.